holidays – News Stories About holidays - Page 5

Secret Santas
Wipe Away
Strangers'
Layaway Debts

Dec 17, 2011 12:13 PM CST

Secret Santas Wipe Away Strangers' Layaway Debts

Anonymous donors clearing accounts at Kmarts, Walmarts

(Newser) - A nice fad this holiday season: Secret Santas are going around to Kmarts and Walmarts and paying off the layaway accounts of random strangers. It's happening all over, including stores in Nebraska, Michigan, Iowa, Indiana, South Carolina, and Montana. The AP , NPR and Time round up examples of the...

11 Insanely
Expensive
Gift Ideas

Dec 17, 2011 10:36 AM CST

11 Insanely Expensive Gift Ideas

A trip to outer space will run you only $200K

(Newser) - 'Tis the season for giving, and what better way to show your appreciation for someone then to bestow them with an absurdly lavish gift, presuming you are nestled high up into the 1%. Here are 11 of the most ludicrously expensive gift ideas, courtesy of Time :

Pacifier, $17,000:

...

Really Bad
Santa Home
for Holidays

Dec 12, 2011 1:10 AM CST

Really Bad Santa Home for Holidays

Claus' monster assistant from Europe winning US converts

(Newser) - Dreck the halls with gobs of gory. If the Krampus has a Christmas carol, that could be his favorite. Krampus is a kind of really bad Santa, and he's gaining converts among those so sick of syrupy Christmas they'd rather scare people to death. Krampus is an import...

The Greatest Holiday Film
of the Past 30 Years Is...

analysis

Dec 10, 2011 10:22 AM CST

The Greatest Holiday Film of the Past 30 Years Is...

Gremlins . Didn't see that coming, did you?

(Newser) - Try to come up with a modern holiday classic and you'll probably think of films like Elf or The Nightmare Before Christmas. But, no, it's actually Gremlins that claims the top spot in the Atlantic 's analysis of the greatest modern holiday films. The magazine looked at...

Rhode Island Christians Revolt Over 'Holiday Tree'

RI Christians
Revolt Over
'Holiday Tree'

Dec 7, 2011 8:54 AM CST

RI Christians Revolt Over 'Holiday Tree'

Carolers crash tree lighting as Catholics hold competing event

(Newser) - When Scott Walker rechristened Wisconsin’s Capitol "holiday tree" a "Christmas tree," the atheists revolted ; now, in Rhode Island, the opposite is happening. When the governor unveiled the Statehouse "holiday tree," angry carolers crashed last night's tree lighting, interrupting a children's chorus to...

Thanksgiving Dinner:
Now 13% More Expensive!

Nov 11, 2011 9:29 AM CST

Thanksgiving Dinner: Now 13% More Expensive!

Hosting 10? Get ready to pay $49.20

(Newser) - This Thanksgiving, stuffing yourself requires you empty your wallet a little bit more. The tab for feeding turkey and all the fixings to a group of 10 has surged 13% to $49.20, the American Farm Bureau Federation finds. Last year, it was $43.37. The AFBF included everything from...

Thanksgiving Day Travel Advice: Buy Your Ticket Now

Tips for Flying on Turkey Day

Oct 25, 2011 3:59 PM CDT

Tips for Flying on Turkey Day

Flying will be pricier and more crowded than ever

(Newser) - Thanksgiving means turkey, family, football—and excruciatingly crowded airports. This year could be even worse, because the average ticket price will be $376—a 4% spike from last year—there will be fewer planes with fewer seats up for grabs, and the dismal economy is not discouraging people from heading...

Hot Christmas Gifts: Ferrari, $45K Ping-Pong Table

NEIMAN MARCUS LIST

Oct 19, 2011 10:20 AM CDT

Hot Christmas Gifts: Ferrari, $45K Ping-Pong Table

Fantasy gifts for 2011 unveiled in 'Christmas Book'

(Newser) - It’s that time of year again: time for Neiman Marcus to say, “Recession? What recession?” and urge you to purchase a $250,000 mahogany speedboat for your beloved this Christmas. Yes, the Christmas Book was unveiled yesterday. To really get into the holiday spirit, read on for the...

Nine Truly Awful
Christmas Movies

Dec 25, 2010 10:54 AM CST

Nine Truly Awful Christmas Movies

Sorry Jim Carrey, but you're no cartoon Grinch

(Newser) - It’s fun to be festive and all, but nobody really needs to see Arnold Schwarzenegger trading Christmas-related quips with Sinbad. On E! , Josh Grossberg lists nine holiday flicks you should skip:

Jingle All the Way: The aforementioned Schwarzenegger-Sinbad vehicle involves jokes that “fall flatter than a drunken department

...

Google's Holiday Doodle
Is Most Ambitious Yet

Dec 23, 2010 11:26 AM CST

Google's Holiday Doodle Is Most Ambitious Yet

Five artists took part in 17-pane interactive project

(Newser) - Five artists, 6 months, 250 hours: That’s what went into the new Google doodle that went online today, reports the Wall Street Journal . The goal was to cover holiday celebrations across the planet, and it’s accomplished in 17 interactive panes arranged to make up the logo. It went...

Dear Santa: I Want Happy Terrorists, Dad to Come Home

kids' christmas wishes

Dec 23, 2010 2:22 AM CST

Dear Santa: I Want Happy Terrorists, Dad to Come Home

Veteran Claus reveals kids' secret desires

(Newser) - A 28-year veteran of the Santa Claus role has finally revealed in a blog what we already knew: Kids can be hilarious and heartbreaking. But he's got some perfect tales to illustrate it. Beyond the expected requests for the latest Barbie and video game, kids have whispered into Santa Carl...

Lady Gaga Stomps
Santa Claus

Dec 20, 2010 2:05 AM CST

Lady Gaga Stomps Santa Claus

'I hate the holidays,' says concert shock mistress

(Newser) - Is nothing sacred, Lady Gaga? Apparently not. Poor Santa Claus took a stiletto heel to the head at the singer's Monsterball London concert, reports the Telegraph . Someone tossed the small stuffed Santa onto the stage and Gaga first tried to bite its head off, à la Ozzy Osbourne. But the...

Pre-Breakfast Workout
Can Beat the Holiday Flab

Dec 15, 2010 1:57 PM CST

Pre-Breakfast Workout Can Beat the Holiday Flab

Working out before you've eaten helps your metabolism

(Newser) - Terrified of packing on the pounds thanks to all that pigging out you’ll be doing over the holidays? Well, a group of researchers in Belgium has a solution: just exercise before breakfast. In a new study, researchers fed a group of active young men a high-fat, high-calorie diet, then...

Christmas Caroling:
Quaint Tradition
Begun By Drunks

Dec 5, 2010 8:48 AM CST

Christmas Caroling: Quaint Tradition Begun By Drunks

Also, Santa? Didn't start out being so jolly

(Newser) - Cheerful church groups love Christmas caroling, but the tradition was actually started by a bunch of lushes. Back when "Christmas" was actually a celebration of the winter solstice, poor carolers would go from house to house singing ... and also threatening to break windows if they were not plied with...

'12 Days of Christmas' Gifts Will Cost You $97K

Nov 29, 2010 6:53 AM CST

'12 Days of Christmas' Gifts Will Cost You $97K

Gold prices push the cost of 5 rings to $650

(Newser) - If your true love gives you everything from 12 drummers drumming to a partridge in a pear tree this year, he or she will have shelled out $96,824. That’s up 10.8% from last year, the AP reports. High gold prices pushed the cost of five gold rings...

Christmas Is Here...
Way Too Early

Nov 21, 2010 9:34 AM CST

Christmas Is Here... Way Too Early

Six signs that the holiday season has gotten too impatient

(Newser) - It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas ... even though we're not yet past Thanksgiving. The Week pores through local papers to find six tales of Christmas coming too early this year:

It's never too early for eggnog lattes: In Seattle , at least one Starbucks started selling seasonal drinks right

...

'Christmas' Saviors: We're Winning the War

Nov 19, 2010 1:30 PM CST

'Christmas' Saviors: We're Winning the War

This year, Dick's Sporting Goods is target of boycott

(Newser) - Dick's Sporting Goods gets the unlucky honor of being this year's villain in the “War on Christmas” campaign. The American Family Association has singled it out for a boycott this holiday season because the chain is “against” the holiday, reports Advertising Age . One of its offenses is having...

Town Wants All
145K Residents
in Holiday Card

Nov 19, 2010 10:09 AM CST

Town Wants All 145K Residents in Holiday Card

Naperville, Illinois, hoping to squeeze everyone into a photo

(Newser) - The town of Naperville, Ill., has some pretty grand plans for this year's holiday card: It wants every single resident—that's 145,000 people—to appear on it. The town's mayor has invited the Chicago suburb's residents to pose for a photo next Friday at a time very convenient for...

Dating Site
for Hotties
Culls Fatties

LIVING TOO LARGE

Jan 5, 2010 1:48 PM CST

Dating Site for Hotties Culls Fatties

BeautifulPeople members saw holiday pudge, weren't having it

(Newser) - Some 5,000 members of the online dating site BeautifulPeople.com are members no more after their discerning compatriots booted them for beefing up over the holidays. “Vigilant members” of the community, which has a strict “ugly people” ban, noticed a slew of photos over the New Year...

Holiday
Violence:
Not Just
for Celebs

Dec 29, 2009 11:50 AM CST

Holiday Violence: Not Just for Celebs

As Tiger Woods and Charlie Sheen prove, this season can be stressful

(Newser) - Elin Nordegren kicked off this year's holiday season on the wrong foot, reportedly chasing Tiger Woods with a golf club in the wee hours after Thanksgiving. Charlie Sheen piled on, allegedly assaulting his wife on Christmas, writes Mary Elizabeth Williams in Salon , and it's worth noting that the holidays can...